Philips In Talks To Sell Us Television Plant

This fits in with the reorganisation of the sound and vision unit that was announced at the half year figures by Dudley Eustace (finance director), a spokesman said.

The Greeneville plant employs around 2,000 people, making an annual one million televisions. In July Philips said it wanted to cut 6,000 jobs over 18 months from its sound & vision unit in a drive to cut costs and sharpen up profitability.

We have entered negotiations with a potential buyer who wants to acquire the Greeneville TV production plant, the spokesman said, declining to say how much the plant was valued at or give details of its turnover.

 

The decision was made as a result of the continuing decline in the domestic TV industry, he said. In 1995 industry-wide demand in the US was down 10 per cent and demand in the first half of 1996 is down six per cent.

He said Philips would continue to buy televisions from the new owner of the Greeneville plant.

Asked if further job cuts would be announced in the short term the spokesman replied: I don't know whether it is reasonable to expect similar announcements soon. More measures will be taken to bring down costs across the company.

What Eustace said at the press conference (in July) is more than just trying to sell Greeneville, he said.